Fastening for roof-slates



(No Model.)

0. W. NORGROSS.

FASTENING FOR ROOF SLATES. f

No. 396,593. Patented Jan. 22,1889.

4 T all whom, it may concern:

and useful Improvements in Fastenings for -Roof-Slates; and I do hereby declare that the ORLANDO \V. NORCROSS, OF \VORCES lEI L MASSACHUSETTS.

FASTENING FOR ROOF-SLATES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 396,593, dated January 22, 1889.

Application filed November 23, 18

Be it known that I, ORLANDO W. Noncnoss, of the city and county of \Vorcester, and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new following isa full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, and in which on Figure 1 represents a verticala section through part of a roof, showing my improve ment applied thereto. Fig. 2 is a plan of the under side of said section of roof. Fig. 3 is a vertical section through one of the roof-purlins and part of the slating, showing also a side view of my improved slate-fastener, this figure, as well as all those following, being upon an enlarged scale. Figs. t and 5 are a side view and plan, respectively, of the wire part of my improved fastener; and Fi s. 6 and 7 are similar views to Figs. 4 and 0, showing modifications in the construction hereinafter described.

My invention relates more particularly to roofs whose f rame-work is composed wholly or in part of metal, and havin the slates thereon fastened to the usual purlins of such roofs.

It consists of improvements in the construe tion of the fastening devices employed in carrying out said result, as hereinafter more fully set forth.

In order that others skilled in the art to which my invention ap1.)ertains may fully understand the nature and purpose thereof, I will now proceed to describe it more in detail.

Referring to the drawings, the parts marked A represent the rafters, and B the purlins, of an ordinary iron roof.

0 are the slates, which are laid as usual; and D,my improved fastening devices for securing said slates to the purlins.

Various kinds of fasteners have heretofore been employed for securing the slates on roofs of this class, and I therefore limit my invention to the construction and arrange ment herein set forth and shown for effecting the above result.

88. Serial No. 291,701. (No model.)

manner: It consists of the wire part D and the screw D Said part D is made from a single piece of wire bent into the proper shapes to fit the purlin .and to receive and hold the screw 13 It is bent at the middle to form the spiral coil (1, which acts as a spring-nut to receive and hold the screw as aforesaid; thence out laterally and longitudinally to produce the bearing part b at a short distance from and parallel'to said spiral coil, adapted to bear upon the upper side of the purlin to hold the slates from slipping down; thence at or about right angles "from said bearing part b a distance equal to the width, of the bottom of the pgrliinand finally terminatadapted to hook over the lower edge of said purlin, as is full-y'shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings.

In fastening a slate in position the wire portion of the device is first fitted to the bottom and upper sides of the purl in, with the hooks c 0 over the lower edge thereof; then, while said wire part is held in said position, the screw D is passed down through the opening in the slate and turned into the spiral-coil spring-nut (1 until the parts are drawn up tight, the head of the screw holding against the slate at one end and the hooks c 0 upon the lower edge of the purlin at the other end. Slates thus fastened, it will be apparent, are held in a secure manner not only from slipping as well. as from pulling off, but also, owing to the construction of the part I), a certain degree of elasticity or spring motion is obtained, sufficient in practice to admit of the usual expansion and contraction of the slates and their supports without injury to said slates. Said fastening devices may be applied in a very easy and expeditious manner, and may alsobe manufactured at a comparatively small cost.

As different shapes are in practice required to fit different purlins, I reserve the right to make such modifications in the device as circumstances may require. I, however, limit myself to the use of wire in the construction of the part D, asI am aware that angle-irons of a similar shape in their general outline have My improved fastening device is constructed and applied to use in the following heretofore been used for a like purpose. Said angle-irons, however, produce a rigid fastening at the ends intwo iiptiirnecl -lroolis, Cec

ing, Whereas my improved fastening possesses considerable elasticity, as previously specified, which, as will be understood by those skilled in the art, is of substantial advantage in practice.

The construction of the wire part shown in Figs. 6 and 7 is substantially like that shown in the previous figures, the only difference being that the wire of which it is composed is bent so as to receive the additional flange formed on the T-iron or purlin, and otherwise made to conform thereto, as is indicated in Fig. 6. The employment of a spring part, D, is not only of advantage after the slates are secured in position, for the reason previously stated, but also in the operation of fastening the same in position, as less care is necessitated in said operation than if the screw or bolt were turned into a rigid part possessing no elasticity, the danger in such case being of breaking the slate by turning said screw or bolt a little too far into said inflexible or rigid part. Said objection is entirely obviated by the use of my device, as an extra turn or two is immaterial and is not liable to cause injury to the slate.

The device, while of an elastic nature, as aforesaid, is strong, durable, and effective for the purpose for which it is designed, and, as before stated, may be manufactured very cheaply.

Having now fully described my invention, whatl claim therein as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

A fastening device for roof-slates, comprising, in combination, a wire spring part bent in such manner as to be hooked over or around the purlin and adapted to bear upon the upper side thereof, also to form a spiral coil or spring-nut at or about right angles to the slate and at a short distance above the purlin when fitted thereto, and a suitable screw adapted to be passed down through the slate and turned into the aforesaid spring-nut, substantially as set forth and shown.

ORLANDO W. NORCROSS.

Vitnesses:

A. A. BARKER, W. B. NoURsE. 

